


Great Irresponsibility

by TheOrangeWritingRanger



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - X-Ray & Vav, Angst, M/M, OT6, Torture, superhero au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-08
Updated: 2016-11-08
Packaged: 2018-08-29 20:45:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8504782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheOrangeWritingRanger/pseuds/TheOrangeWritingRanger
Summary: Slow build OT6 with the Achievement Hunters in a post-Season 2 of X-Ray & Vav (some non-canon stuff though)
The Jackhammer and The Brewer teamed up recently with plucky superhero Vav and the mighty Mogar. They recruit young Rimmy-Tim as well, in order to take on the ever growing threat that is The Mad King...





	1. The Blue One

[(Tumblr link)](http://theorangewritingranger.tumblr.com/post/152722246497/great-irresponsibility-chapter-one-the-blue-one)

 

“Bloody bollocking tater tots!” The scream ripped from Vav’s throat before he could stop himself. He huffed in pain then gritted his teeth. He looked up through watering eyes to see an eyebrow raised in amusement.

“And here I thought I’d already scraped the bottom of your barrel of Briticisms.” The Mad King stepped out from behind the control panel and strode towards Vav, his hands held behind his back. He looked all the while as if he were taking a quiet stroll in the park. The harsh light highlighted the man’s strong jaw and stubble.

Vav breathed deeply, trying to ignore the pain, and more importantly, trying not to let it show on his face. The sick son of a bitch had managed to surprise him was all. The Mad King drew closer. There was a small smirk on his face. Vav met the King’s eyes and clenched his fists. _Can’t let him see how much this hurts..._ The other man laughed, his icy blue eyes glittering.

“Oh, don’t bother Vav. It’s obvious that you’re in pain. You can’t hide it from me.”

Vav looked away. The Mad King just laughed again. He turned and strode back to the control panel. He put a finger to his chin overdramatically and scanned the dials. With a gleeful look, he twisted one, sending a jolt of energy spasming across Vav’s torso where he was pinned like some great blue butterfly. The surge passed and Vav felt his muscles unclench. He wanted to flop forward and hang limply, sucking in great lungfuls of air and wailing like a child. But he didn’t. Instead, he straightened himself. The only giveaway in his composure was the flaring of his nostrils as he drew ragged breaths.

The Mad King was perusing his control panel again.

“You know the funniest part though? The most amusing part of this whole thing is that I don't even want anything from you. This-” the King twisted a different dial, eliciting a gasp and a flinch from Vav, “-simply amuses me. Watching you _squirm_ -” the Mad King continued turning the knob. Vav squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath as the pain racked his body. “It amuses me to no end.”

There was a sudden shuddering through the floor beneath them, followed by a muffled explosion. A look of annoyance flashed across the Mad King’s face, followed by a slight pout. A klaxon sounded.

“Ah. Dear Vav, I believe you have just been ‘saved by the bell’.” The Mad King wandered back over to the pinned superhero and looked up at him again. The cracked crown on the madman’s head glinted in the spotlights that were focused on his prey. “I surmised that they would turn up eventually, but I was glad we could have this little soiree. It cheers me to no end having you around.”

Vav tried not to shudder as he met the man’s eyes again.

“Sod off you great prick,” he managed. There was a great explosion of dust and noise as the nearest wall caved in. The Mad King simply chuckled and retreated, his glittering cheshire smile the last thing that Vav saw as he vanished into the shadows.

“Vav! Buddy! You in here?”

“Yeah, over here-” Gavin coughed. The dust was thick and tickled his throat. “I’m over here Geoff,” he called. Stumbling through the haze came an older man, with dark hair and lidded eyes that gave him a permanently tired expression.

“Vav!” he exclaimed, taking in the horrible contraption the young superhero had been strapped into. He rushed forwards and began tugging at one of the straps that held Vav down. There was more coughing as another man pulled himself through the rough hole.

“Jack! He’s over here!”

The man named Jack hurried over. He was taller and more broadly built, with red hair and an impressive beard.

“Is he okay?”

“‘M fine,” Vav mumbled.

“Gavin… are you sure?” asked Jack in a low voice.

Geoff had released both the straps that had restrained his wrists. Vav rubbed them gingerly.

“Yeah… I’m alright…”

Jack and Geoff exchanged glances.

“Speaking of _him_ , which way did he go?”

Vav jerked his head viciously in the direction in which he had seen the Mad King disappear. Jack strode off in that direction.

“I doubt you’ll find anything,” Vav called after him. “We never do…” he added in an undertone. Geoff offered him a hand when he’d released Vav’s legs. The Brit took it and allowed himself to be helped down. He leant heavily on Geoff’s shoulder when his legs nearly gave way.

“Don’t say that buddy. We’ll get him soon. You bet you fucking ass we will,” Geoff growled.

Vav ignored him as he limped slowly towards the makeshift exit, still using Geoff as a crutch.

“Where’s Mogar?” he asked instead.

“Up on the street. We wanted to have someone up there if he tried to scarper in that direction. We actually called in another hero to give him a hand. We do not want that monster getting away again...”

Vav hissed as his shaking legs wobbled beneath him, his ankle rolling.

“Fuck… Here, put your arm around me,” Geoff stopped and looped the younger man’s lanky arm around his shoulders. “I should just carry you.”

“Geoffrey, you’re lovely Geoffrey. But if you bloody carry me, I’m never gonna live it down. I’m a superhero - how’s it gonna look when I get carried out like the damsel in distress?” Vav muttered. Geoff chuckled.

“Alright, alright. Well hurry up then, I fucking hate it down here. We had to go through the sewers to get here...” Geoff shuddered.

“Nothing wrong with a good sewer. They play an important part in the city.”

“Yeah but… you never know what could be down here…”

“Like what?”

“Like snakes man!”

“Snakes, Geoff? Snakes don’t live in the sewers,” said Vav. He paused. “But now you say that, a lot of rats live in sewers. Snakes like eating rats…”

Geoff whimpered. “Fucking fuck - let’s go already!”

Vav laughed now and allowed Geoff to hurry him through the dark hallway beyond and out into the light.

 

They took Geoff’s car back to the base. When Geoff and Jack had first teamed up, the pair had needed a place to operate from. Instead of going for some elaborate and over the top Bat-cave, or other super obvious super-base, the Hunters’ house looked exactly like that - a house. White, two stories, with a nice picket fence. The inside though was a completely different story.

Geoff and Vav entered through the garage, descending into the expansive basement area. Hey, they needed the space. They just didn’t call it the _bat-_ cave. Vav hobbled, with help, over to the medical bay and leant heavily on the examination table.

“C’mon, up. I need to have a look at you,” said Geoff.

“Geoff. I don’t need it. I’ll be fine. I need to get to my room. I need to start tracing his where-” Vav went to stand up from the table only to be shoved back down. Geoff glared at him.

“You are not going looking for the Mad King right now. You need rest. You were just fucking tortured for christ sakes!”

“I’m not a child Geoff!”

“Well you’re certainly fucking acting like one! Here, look, you’ve got a graze on your face.”

Geoff pulled out a few cotton swabs and a bottle of surgical spirits. He unscrewed the cap and with a wave of one hand a thin stream trickled out of the bottle into the air. Vav grimaced.

“Geoff, I told you I’m fine,” he grumbled, pushing past.

“Sit your ass down and let me clean that.” Geoff grabbed for Vav’s arm, but the young Brit managed to squirm out of his grasp and lunged for a pair of red gloves on a nearby table.

“Oh no you don’t, you little fucker!” Suddenly the whole bottle of spirits emptied into the air, becoming a long, shimmering liquid rope. Geoff flicked his hands and the alcohol flew through the air towards Vav who was hurriedly pulling the gloves on. He managed one and held up a hand. The liquid slowed, looking almost solid in the air. Geoff looked furious, but was frozen too, red faced and in the middle of shouting. Vav watched as a speck of spittle flew slowly from his mouth. He huffed, pulled the other glove on and then left the basement. He headed for his room. Geoff could yell at him later. Right now, he needed to try to get a location on that wily, kilted son-of-a-bitch they called the Mad King. If he could access the street cameras in the area around where he’d been taken, perhaps he’d be able to pinpoint a direction the madman had gone in. He kicked off his boots and cape and settled cross legged in his desk chair. The array of monitors lit up the dark room as he pulled himself closer to the desk. He began pulling up traffic camera views, and let himself get lost in the work.

 

The slow-motion wore off just as Jack and the others got in. Geoff cursed as he heard the roar of the car pull into the garage above.

“Little prick…” he muttered. He clicked his fingers and the rope of shimmering alcohol coalesced back into one large glob and returned it to its bottle. He sighed, looking at the bottle.

_I need a drink_ he thought.

Jack walked in. He cocked an eye at Geoff who was now a third of the way through a bottle of bourbon.

“Is he all right?” he asked gently, coming over to place a hand on Geoff’s shoulder. The tattooed man shrugged and took another swig.  
“He hit me again. It only just wore off. He could have gone out after the bastard again for all I know,” Geoff grumbled. Jack sighed and shook his head.

“I just wish he’d let us help him goddamn it!” Geoff shouted at the ceiling where he knew Vav’s bedroom was. Jack clapped his shoulder.

“We just… We’re here for him. That’s all we can really do,” the ginger man said. “I’ll go try to talk to him.”

Geoff just nodded tiredly and took another drink. Jack headed up the stairs towards Vav’s room. The garage door clattered again and heavy footsteps preceded two more people.

“Where is the blue one?” boomed the barbarian as he strode into the room.

“Vav is probably sulking in ‘is room,” said Geoff, indicating the stairs. Mogar made an unimpressed grunt and took off the bearskin he wore everywhere. He unstrapped his enormous sword and rested it carefully against a table then threw himself down into the beaten up leather couch in the middle of the basement. He reached over, snagged the bottle from Geoff’s hands and took a gulp.

“Hey!” Geoff’s tone was indignant. “Get your own, you animal.” With a flick of the wrist, the remainder of the bourbon flew out of the bottle and hovered in a ball in front of Geoff. Mogar laughed uproariously and threw the bottle towards the nearest trashcan. He missed and it shattered all over the floor.

“Come on man! You’re a barbarian, not a caveman,” Geoff whined. He turned to his floating blob of amber and took a tentative sip straight from the air. “Besides, are you even old enough to drink anyway?”

Mogar just shrugged. This made his muscles ripple quite unfairly in Geoff’s opinion.

“Mogar does not know. Many seasons have passed. Mogar did not think to count them,” he said.

Geoff turned away from the washboard abs as a voice called down the stairs.

“Uh, Mister Spirit, sir? May I come in?”

“Jesus kid, don’t call me that. Geoff is fine. And yeah, get your ass in here.”

A short but stocky young man came hesitantly down the stairs. Geoff grimaced.

“Dear god Jeremy. I always thought I’d met the most garish superhero when I’d met Vav. Seriously - he has the union jack emblazoned on his chest. But no. I was wrong. And somehow you look brighter every time I see you.”

“What can I say? My outfit’s iconic.”

“More like moronic…” Geoff mumbled, taking another gulp of airborne bourbon. Jeremy chuckled, running his hands over the purple and orange suit as he reached the bottom of the staircase.

“Make yourself at home,” Geoff said, gesturing at the room. Jeremy stared around.

“This is so fucking cool,” he said, taking in the huge bank of screens on one side of the room which served as the team’s surveillance station, the medical wing, the full sized and stocked bar, the giant TV with its assorted gaming systems hooked up, and the pool table and dartboard. It did not look like a superhero’s base - it was more like a cross between a bar and a man-cave. Where one expected metal and concrete, everything was decorative stone and polished wood with handtooled finishings. The place felt incredibly homey.

“You’ll catch flies,” Geoff muttered taking another drink. Jeremy quickly shut his mouth. He walked over to sit on the end of the couch, but the man already lounging there bared his larger-than average canines and growled. Jeremy suddenly became very interested in examining the surveillance station.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“Camera system. Mainly for house security. We can occasionally patch into the city’s cameras though if we need to track someone or something,” Geoff said. He’d finished his floating blob and had wandered over to the bar. He grabbed another bottle from a shelf and pulled out the cork with a squeak and a pop. Jeremy followed him.

“That is a _lot_ of liquor,” he said.

“Eh. We get it in bulk. And it’s tax deductable.”

“What? Seriously?”

“No you dipshit. It’s alcohol. Who would reimburse you for that?” Geoff said taking a swig of rum. “But it bloody well should be. It’s basically a work expense for us.”

They heard footsteps on stairs again.

“He’s locked himself in his room again. Changed the pin code too,” Jack said with a sigh, walking over and leaning on the bar. Geoff proffered his bottle to Jack. The ginger man chuckled and held up a hand.

“I’m good thanks. We’ve got enough of the team wallowing in something,” he said.

Geoff snorted. “I don’t wallow. I _marinate_ ,” he said.

“Speaking of said team,” Jack turned to Jeremy. The younger man swallowed nervously.

“You did great today Rimmy Tim -”

Jeremy reddened. “It’s okay. You can call me Jeremy.”

Jack smiled. “Jeremy. Yeah, you did great today. Thanks for helping us track down Vav and the Mad King.”

Jeremy fiddled with a coaster on the bar top. “I wasn’t that great. He got away.”

“And he’s been getting away for the past year. Ever since we started chasing that slippery, crowned psycho he’s managed to get away from us. But you played an important part today, and that was assisting in getting Vav back,” said Jack.

“Well, in that regard, I’m glad I could help,” Jeremy said with a grin.

“Team meeting time!” bellowed Geoff. Jack and Jeremy winced.

“Not sure why you’re yelling so loud. We’re all here already,” said Jack.

Geoff rolled his eyes at the ceiling. “That’s just in case British and bone-headed hears and decides to join us.”

Jack sighed again. “You just have to give him a bit of space Geoff.”

“All right fine…” Geoff whined. “We’re still having a meeting though.”

Jeremy nodded, but then paused. “Wait. Am I a part of this meeting?”

“Why wouldn’t you be?” asked Jack, pulling up a bar stool.

Jeremy flipped the coaster anxiously. It fell onto the floor. He retrieved it, his face reddening again. “Well, I’m not exactly part of the team. From what I understand, you guys just needed my help for the day,” he said.

“That’s partially what this meeting is about,” said Geoff.

Mogar slid off the couch and came over. With a little hop, he jumped up on the bar and sat there with his legs crossed. Geoff raised his bottle and cleared his throat. The three looked at him expectantly.

“We need trackers,” he said. “It’s the only way I can think to work around this issue. This is the second time that Vav has gone missing and it was only thanks to a lucky scent trail that we were able to find him again.” Geoff pointed his bottle at Mogar who nodded.

“Trackers?” the barbarian asked, tilting his head to one side. “I track. You need more?”

“Different kind of tracker. Electronic ones for each Hunter. GPS locatable,” Geoff said.

Jeremy rubbed his chin. “The Mad King is a smart bastard. If we were carrying around something like that he’d just find it and throw it in the drain,” he said.

“That’s why we need subdermal ones,” said Geoff. Jeremy paused, processing the word, then shivered.

“Like pet microchips?” he asked. His hand went tentatively to the back of his neck.

Geoff laughed. “Yeah. Like that. But fancier. And not in the neck. Probably in the arm.”

Jack rubbed his upper arm. “That’s still a fuck-off big needle…” he said.

Jeremy looked pale.

“It’s definitely a good idea though Geoff,” said Jack. “I’ll have to get Hilda on it when she’s around next. I know she’s pretty busy nowadays, but hopefully she can spare a project like that for her favourite band of misfit superheroes.”

Mogar squinted at Jack, Geoff and Jeremy.

“What is needle?” he asked.

Jack and Geoff looked at each other.

“I guess you’ve never had a needle, have you buddy?” Jack asked with a smile.

Geoff frowned. “Will needles even work on him though? His body is practically bulletproof.”

“I guess we’ll find out…” said Jack. The pair looked thoughtfully at Mogar.

“Next order of business!” said Geoff after a few seconds. He turned to Jeremy. “As Jack was saying, great work today little J. We’ve actually been looking for a new Hunter for a while now. We’ve had our eye on a couple of potential candidates. Today we needed the extra help and you pulled through, so you can consider this the start of your trial period as a Hunter,” Geoff said, glancing at Jack. The ginger man nodded and beamed at Jeremy. The short man looked between the two, his mouth open again.

“What? Seriously?”

“Yep!” said Geoff, popping the ‘p’. “And if we decide you’re the right kinda stuff to go with our kinda stuff, then you can get a big fuck-off needle too!”

Jeremy stared at him. Half of his face looked like it was trying to grin, the other half drooped in terror. Geoff threw his head back in laughter and clapped Jeremy on the back.

“Nothing to worry about Lil’ J. Needles aren’t that bad. See these tattoos? It’s like getting needles, but a million of them over several hours,” he said, gesturing to the artwork inked onto his skin.

“Yes, but you were inebriated through most of those Geoff. It provides a certain anesthetic quality…” said Jack.

“The fuck it does. My tolerance is so high by this point I could drink this entire bar dry and still walk straighter than Mr. Gavin ‘The Klutz’ Free any day,” Geoff shot back.

The smiles faded from their faces. Geoff took another drink and Jack looked up at the ceiling to where he could feel Gavin in the house. His powers were rather unusual in the way that they worked. Geoff’s powers worked directly on the element of his association, which in Geoff’s case was any form of alcohol. Jack’s powers were more nuanced. His senses were in tune with the energies people left in objects. The more hands-on an object had in its creation, the more Jack could influence it. He’d always found that the objects with the most energy from the most people in their creation were houses. This led to him often being able to basically use buildings as weapons, reshaping or simply destroying them as the need arose, thus earning him the name Jack-Hammer. This was also the reason the Hunter house was so homely - Jack himself had hand crafted every square inch of it.

He was able to reach out to that energy that he had poured into its formation and tweak it if need be. Currently, he was extending his senses upwards to the polished wooden floors of the second bedroom. He could feel the weight of the five castors on the bottom of Vav’s chair as the young man rolled across the floor.

 

Vav rolled closer to his desk, pulling one of the many monitors there around to see it better. He had a similar, but not as large set up in here as was in the basement. This one was leftover from when… Vav shook his head. He didn’t want to think about that right now. Right now, he had to track down the Mad King. He’d traced the psychopath’s exit from the building that Vav had been trapped in. The Mad King hadn’t even run. He’d basically sauntered down the street in his stupid crown and his stupid kilt. The man stopped, appearing to consider which way to go down a t-intersection, then raised his cold blue eyes to the camera. Vav’s fingers trembled over the keyboard. The recording on the screen smiled. The Mad King took another step and vanished out of frame. Vav switched to the next nearest camera, scrubbing to the correct time to see - nothing. The Mad King was there - right there in the frame of the other camera - and then he wasn’t. Vav cursed and slammed his fists on the desk.

“You smegging prick!”

Vav pushed himself himself away from the desk again. He’d had suspected that this whole ploy had been a trap in the first place. Jack and Geoff had warned him against going to the scene. He’d just _needed_ to know. And… well, he wouldn’t say that he got captured on _purpose_ \- he just knew that if he was able to get the Mad King out in the open, then perhaps they’d be able to track him. But the sly bastard had obviously thought of that. Vav fiddled with the controls again, scrubbing backwards and forwards through the footage. He eventually resorted to clicking through the film frame by frame, straining to find something - anything - that he could use. Vav jumped a foot in the air when there came a sudden pounding at the door. He rearranged his legs in his chair and glared at the door.

“What?”

“Food time,” came Mogar’s reply.

Vav let his head fall back with an annoyed sound.

“I’m busy!” he called and turned back to the monitors.

“Come out!” Mogar yelled. He pounded on the door again.

“I’m busy, you twat!” Gavin yelled.

The pounding stopped. Gavin watched the door out of the corner of his eye. There was a painful creaking noise. The metal door bulged ever-so-slightly in the middle.

“Mogar - no - stop it!” Vav squawked. He heard the bear man chuckle, then the door creaked again, its hinges protesting.

“Bloody - quit it already!” Gavin stormed over to the door and unlocked it. Immediately the bear-man on the other side stopped leaning on it with his considerable strength and stepped back as Vav opened it.

“You will not break this door down again! Jack was mad after the third time. Do it again and he’ll get pissy at me as well,” Vav said, examining the lintel. Mogar rolled his eyes and grabbed the front of Vav’s blue costume and dragged him down the hall. Gavin spluttered and fought the grip the whole way.

“Got him,” Mogar growled. He dragged Vav down the stairs and into the basement, tossing him onto the couch. The young Brit landed in a heap of gangly limbs.

“Thank you Mogar,” said Jack. He handed the barbarian a grease stained bag. Drool formed basically instantly in Mogars mouth as he tore into the bag. Jack turned and dropped another onto the disgruntled Vav’s lap.

“I’m not hungry,” said Gavin.

“I doubt the Mad King had the courtesy to feed you and you’ve been gone since morning. Eat. Now,” said Jack. Gavin glared at him. He pushed the bag away and got up from the couch. He headed towards the stairs, but a hand on his arm stopped him. Vav looked around. Jack’s brow was creased in worry.

“Gavin,” he said softly. “It’s Five Guys. I got your usual order. Can you just try to eat a little bit of it?”

Vav said nothing and just stared frostily at the older man. Jack sighed.

“Please Gav. I… I know you want to catch the Mad King. I know… It’s just - and I can’t believe I’m saying this - but you were tortured today. Actual physical torture. That _must_ have been hard. If you just eat something, it’ll be a weight off my chest,” he said.

Gavin continued to stare at him. He looked down at the bag in Jack’s hands. After a moment, the tension in his stance faded a little. He took the bag. Jack gave a small smile and let Gavin go. The young man looked down at the floor for a moment then back up at Jack. There was a chorus of laughter from over at the bar. Gav’s gaze flicked over and he watched as Geoff had drawn a series of wobbly, interlocking loops in the air with the contents of a bottle of Jager. Jeremy was enjoying the spectacle thoroughly.

“It was awful,” Vav said in a small voice. Jack reached out and rubbed Gavin’s arm again.

“I know. I can imagine,” Jack said.

Gavin’s hands tightened around the burger bag.

“It hurt… like a lot…” he said.

“It’s… it’s never happened to me personally. But one time Geoff… well, I won’t go into details. But he got through it. And you will too.”

Gav heaved a great sigh. He turned and went to sit on the couch again, his back to the others. Jack watched him go, a frown still etched on his face.

 

It was only later that night when it finally sunk in for Vav. He’d gone up to his room again and taken off the blue suit. He’d laid his gloves on the bedside table for easy access - he’d been caught out before - and slipped into some pyjamas. He got into bed and lay back. There in the darkness, with the house settling around him and the dim blue glow of his computer, there was finally silence. Silence and the deafening sounds of his thoughts. A cold fist seemed to clench around his stomach as he remembered getting up that morning to the news alerts that yet another bank had been robbed.

It was the latest in a long string of robberies. Geoff turned up the volume on the TV as Jack went over to the surveillance set up. He began pulling up details about the robbery as they came in over the various channels, and compared them to the past robberies.

“It’s the same MO alright,” said Jack. On one screen there was a picture from the heist three weeks ago, and one from today’s on another. Both images showed heavy bank vault doors open. Both were now completely devoid of any valuables. Both also had enormous, twin holes in the floors.

Vav flopped his upper half over the top of the couch.

“I’m telling you, it’s _him_ ,” he said.

“Vav! For the last time! We have absolutely no proof that this is the Mad King’s doing. There has not been one shred, or scrap or fucking tartan-thread to indicate that this was him.”

“There was that camera feed in the robbery - the third one - wait - no, it was the fourth -”

“That feed didn’t show shit. That was just some dude’s shadow. It could have been anyone.”

“Geoffreeeeey… It was a crown. That shadow was wearing a crown. Wait. No - the person the shadow was of had a shadow which had a crown on - what?”

“Dude. That made no fucking sense. And therefore your argument is invalid,” Geoff said.

Gavin moaned in frustration and stomped out of the room. Geoff took a swig of coffee - coffee that was so liberally laced with Bailey’s it was basically more alcohol than coffee.

“Look at what that boy has made me do. It’s nine in the morning and I’m already drinking to soothe my nerves.”

Jack huffed a laugh. “Geoff, alcohol is _literally_ water to you. You don’t need Gav for an excuse to drink.”

“You raise a fair point, sir,” said Geoff, waving a finger in Jack’s general direction.

Geoff watched the news for a few more minutes until the article about the robbery was over then he switched the channel.

“So, what’s on the agenda for today?” he said, his words almost lost in a huge yawn and stretch.

“There has been a slew of muggings uptown - in broad daylight. I was thinking we should head out there and just patrol around a bit.”

“Ugh. Patrolling. They never said I’d have to patrol when I became a superhero,” said Geoff and he slouched further down into the couch.

“Yes, well, there was no one to tell you anything when we all came into our powers Geoff. Most of us made it up as we went along.”

“Also true,” Geoff said with another finger waggle.

“So… do you wanna wake the bear, or shall I?” Jack asked. Geoff shuddered.

“It was a late night for all of us. I so do not wanna go in there,” he said.

Jack laughed. “I’ll go get him up then.”

“You’re a braver man than me,” Geoff said.

Jack headed upstairs towards Mogar’s room. It had taken a while to convince the wild man to move into the house. When the four had officially decided to become a team, he and Vav had both still lived elsewhere. Mogar specifically lived in the woods on the edge of the city. It took several hours to track him down every time they needed to go on a mission. So after a lot of persuasion and discussion, the bear-man had finally agreed to move into the house. As long as he could bring his mother. Said mother was currently established in the plushest, most luxurious barn that could be built for her in the backyard. Jack shook his head. How Mogar had even learned his very basic grasp on english and human etiquette after being raised by a cow - albeit a rather special cow - was beyond him. Mogar was a man of few words, but Jack was positive that he’d pry the whole story from him one day.

Jack knocked on the door. He heard a sleepy grunt from within and took this to be permission to enter. He pushed the door open. He would have been surprised by the interior if he had not crafted it himself. The whole room was covered in rock. There was a set of doors on the opposite side of the room leading onto a balcony. They were wide open, letting in a nice breeze. Mogar was sprawled in a pile of furs on the floor - the spot he called his nest. Those pelts were ones Mogar had collected over the years - killing predators who’d come to harm himself or his mother when they lived in the wild. The only thing that seemed out of place in the room was the desk. Although it was chiseled to look like it had grown straight from the stone wall, there was still a high quality computer and desk chair at it.

“Hey, furry fury, wake up. Time for missions,” Jack said.

There was more half-asleep grumbles from atop the fur pile. Jack chuckled as the young man lifted the corner of his mouth, baring a single fang in a sleepy growl.

“Surely you must have been an early riser - making most of the daylight and whatnot,” Jack said.

“Hibernatin’,” mumbled Mogar.

Jack laughed again. “Dude. You may say you’re a bear, but you’re human and you were raised by a cow. Both of which sleep less than you do.”

These words were met with yet another irritated grumble, so Jack left the man to wake up in his own time and went to fetch Vav.

He rapped his knuckles on the Brit’s door and then pushed it open. He paused for a moment. He was sure that Gavin had come back up here when he’d left the basement.

“Vav? Where are you? We’re heading out soon,” he called, thinking that perhaps Vav had gone to the bathroom. Jack wandered back downstairs, checking the kitchen and peering into the dining and living rooms.

“Did Gav come back in here?” Jack asked, heading down to the basement again and scanning the room. When Geoff shook his head, Jack reached out through the structure, looking for the familiar slight weight. He could not find it.

“He’s not in the house,” Jack said.

“Hm?” said Geoff. He was fixated on a new ad for some kind of gum. It had apples in bras for some reason.

“Gavin. Vav. He’s not in the house.”

Geoff turned now, frowning. “What?”

“Did you see him leave?” asked Jack. He went over to the garage stairs.

“I mean, the cars are all there, but Gav doesn’t drive.”

“Are you sure he’s not in the house?” asked Geoff as he got up from the couch. Jack looked pointedly at him.

“Fair point, fair point,” said Geoff, raising his hands. “Where would he have gone then? He must have known we’d have missions to do today.”

“Do you think he went to the bar?”

“Nah. It’s shut at this hour.”

Both Geoff and Jack looked at the ground thinking. Neither of them stopped to ask why they were being so protective of the young superhero - it was just an automatic response now after months of working together. Neither of them could really help it. Both gents constantly voiced the opinion that they were certain Vav should have been dead after some of the stunts he’d pulled. After teaming up, he’d had them yanking their hair out as they ran around after him like he was an new puppy liable to wander into traffic.

Jack’s eyes flickered towards the computer screens where the two images of the gutted bank vaults were still displayed.

“You don't think…?” said Jack, pointing at them. Geoff looked over.

“Ah, fuck…” he muttered.

 

Vav was vividly reminded of the time before he joined up with Jack, Geoff and Mogar. It was a lot like his current predicament. The constant internal debate on whether to continue walking to wherever he was going, or to catch public transit in his superhero outfit. Generally continuing to walk won out. Vav cut across the suburbs and headed uptown. People smiled and pointed as he passed, but he was used to this. The Austin sun was hot on his shoulders. He oftentimes wished he had a hat as part of his costume, but how ridiculous would that look? He stuck to the big shades instead.

The area was cordoned off with police tape. The news vans had all left already, having had their fill of the story. Only a few cops and curious passersby remained. When vav approached the tape he waved to one of the police officers. The cop grinned and walked over.

“Hey bud!” The officer had the same british accent as the young man in bright blue.

“Dan the man! How’re you?” said Vav.

“Yeah, not bad B. Yourself?”

“Yeah, top mate.” Vav found himself peering over Dan’s shoulder. He sidestepped the man and ducked under the tape. Dan rolled his eyes.

“Would you like to come in B? Sure B. Here let me get the tape for you B. Thanks B!” said Dan as he trailed after Vav. Gavin laughed.

“Sorry… just a bit focused,” he said. He led the way into the bank.

“It’s alright,” Dan said, laughing too. “Hey, just watch it. It’s a shit-show in there and you know the rules.”

Gavin nodded and was suddenly a lot more aware of where he was stepping. Many years ago, this would have been completely illegal. Superheroes - vigilantes would not have been tolerated interfering with an active crime scene. That was the case up until about three percent of the world’s population began developing unusual abilities. There were some major upheavals and turmoil within society at that time. Wars were fought even. Eventually though, the world took a massive chill pill and settled the hell down about the whole issue. Occasionally there were still flare ups, and powered-people were told off very severely for messing about with time, but nowadays, powers were mostly cool. Those powers who felt a calling to a higher purpose were allowed, and even encouraged to do so. As long as they could stick to some rules. Such rules included not fucking with crime scenes. _You can look, but don’t touch_.

Vav stepped carefully around all of the various bits of rubble and markers. The entire place was pockmarked with bullet holes. He also edged uneasily around the four or five still forms now draped with white sheets. Deep crimson pooled from them. Vav swallowed thickly and headed towards the vault.

“That is an _awfully_ big hole,” said Gavin, coming to a stop at the entrance to the depository.

“Not as big as your mum’s,” said Dan, giving the slighter man a shove. Gavin squawked and flailed his arms at Dan.

“B, why are you so mean, B?”

Dan laughed.

“Besides, you know my mum. We grew up together,” Gavin said, flitting round the hole trying to peer into it.

“Yet you still act like you’re six years old,” Dan said.

Vav held up a finger. “Oi. Don’t make me slow-mo your butt again.”

Dan groaned. “Dude. That took like four hours to wear off. The most flippin’ annoying shit ever. Your legs can walk fast under it, but your whole ass feels like it’s glued to what? The air. Or something. Why did you get powers and I didn’t huh?”

“So I can do this,” Vav said with a grin and leapt into the hole.

“Oi - you’re gonna kill -” Dan broke off, his alarmed expression turning to one of annoyance. Vav had turned his hands towards his boots, effectively making them fall, and in turn, his body, fall in slow motion.

“Yeah, nice trick asshole,” Dan said. “You’d better not mess anything up down there. I think they’re coming back with a winch in a few hours to explore where it goes.”

Gavin nodded. “I know the drill,” he said. “Speaking of which, guess who’s been doing that to _your_ mum?”

Dan rolled his eyes again and disappeared from the edge of the hole. Gavin cackled as he descended into the darkness.

 

As Gavin suspected, this was like the other robberies in the fact that the giant hole led directly into an old tunnel that run underneath the city. He used his phone as a flashlight when the light from above began to grow faint. He ignored the several missed calls and texts that were on there. He also noted that there was now no signal.

The hole did not run directly vertical. It sloped away slightly, so the tunnel that it connected to probably wasn’t even under the bank itself. When Vav was three feet off the ground, he released the slow-motion and let himself drop. He landed with a puff of dust and looked around. The walls of the hole had been almost entirely smooth. The perfect edges were really quite unnatural. This tunnel however was much older and smaller and appeared to have been hand hewn. Remnants of structural supports ran off into the darkness as well as a set of cart rails. It was most likely another old prohibition era smuggling tunnel. Geoff had been immediately able to distinguish the centuries old spilled alcohol in the previous tunnels they’d investigated. Those tunnels had always ended in cave-ins and trails gone cold.

Vav looked left and right, trying to figure out which way to go. He had to do this quickly. Geoff and Jack would figure out where he was sooner than later.

“ _Think, moron_ ,” he whispered. Even that slightest sound in the darkness echoed. Gain shivered. He looked around again and the rail tracks caught his eye. He crouched down and examined them. They were extremely dusty after years of disuse and neglect, but it did seem that the ones leading off to the right were cleaner. Vav looked closer. Yes, those were definitely new scratches and wearing in the metal. He could see them glinting in the light from his phone. He went right.

The tunnel was low and he often had to duck his head to avoid cobwebs and beams. The tunnel began to slope upwards. Vav turned off his light when he realised with a surprise that there another natural source coming from up ahead. This tunnel did not end in a collapse like the others. He paused in the darkness, letting his eyes adjust. It was strange. They’d surmised that the cave-ins had been on purpose to cover any tracks the Mad King might have left. Vav bit his lip. That the manic had left this one open did not bode well.

Continuing up the tunnel he reached a point where he could see that new work had been done to widen it. New tracks had been added to make up a complicated switching system. Eventually, the tunnel opened up into a small cave. He wasn't sure if it was natural or not. Off to his left he could see piles and piles of dirt and large, strange disks of rock. He guessed that’s where they’d dumped the debris from the hole. The light came from a large hole in the ceiling. There was a brand new freight elevator type thing installed directly below it. Beside it was a ladder. Vav opted for a ladder as it would probably be quieter than trying to raise the elevator platform. He clambered cautiously up the rungs and peeked out into the room above. Bright sunlight streamed in from the high windows in a large warehouse. It was mostly empty save for a few oil stains and broken palettes. Vav cursed and clambered out of the hole.

“Another freaking dead end,” he muttered taking out his phone again. He tried to search for any new articles on the robbery, but after a second of waiting for the page to load, he noticed that he still had no bars.

“Goddamnit,” he said, shoving the phone back into his pocket. He huffed and headed for the doors to the warehouse. The doors however were locked. Vav swore again as he rattled them, trying to force them open. He was going to have to find another way out. As it turned out, the warehouse only had the one exit. Gavin was beginning to panic a little now. He had no way to call the guys. What if they hadn’t figured out where he’d gone? He shook his head. He had to find a way out by himself. He went and peered into the hole for the elevator platform again. From up here, he could actually see that there were several other tunnels leading off from the cavern. He climbed back down the ladder and went to the entrance to the first one. It speared off for a few yards, but then ended in a pile of rubble. The second was similar. The third however seemed promising. Gavin took a few steps down it, swinging his light left and right and heard something crunch under his boot. He jumped and stepped backwards quickly shining his light downwards. Squashed into the dirt was a little green plant with a purple puff of a flower. Gavin stared at it. It didn’t look like it had grown there - he had squished it a little too much to tell though. Vav’s heart beat faster in excitement. The flower was familiar.

“A thistle!” he said in triumph. He’d seen them before - on the Mad King’s lapel. Of course - him in his kilt and Scottish get-up had to have a thistle flower for a finishing touch. It was no accident that it had been left there, but Vav was not about to let such a solid lead get away. He squared his shoulders and strode into the darkness.

This tunnel was much longer than the one underneath the bank. He almost ran out of battery on his phone from the amount of time he’d spent using his flashlight. The clock told him he’d been underground now for about two hours. He’d been hearing running water for the past hour. The walls had become cobbled instead of rough stone and the smell was enough to make him gag multiple times. This was definitely a sewer now. Vav stopped to rub his watering eyes. How much further could this be? As if on cue, he heard new sounds. He looked around, trying to pinpoint their source. In the dim light of his phone he could see a door up ahead. A maintenance room of some sort. He hurried towards it quietly. Vav pressed his ear up against the door. There came a muffled whimpering. Vav’s gut clenched. He recognised that voice. The door was unlocked. Vav knew it was a bad idea, but he couldn’t help himself. He turned off his light and inched the door open. It was a big room, again, mostly empty. In a circle of light was a solitary figure, bound in an upright position. Vav mas motionless. He scanned the room quickly, seeing no one. He darted to the bound figure.

“X-ray! X-ray, buddy, it’s me. It’s okay, I’m here. I’m gonna get you out of here…” he whispered. X-ray was not dressed in the green suit that Vav remembered. His new outfit was chocolate coloured with a large pale brown crown emblazoned on the man’s chest. His head was hanging down now, chin nearly touching the emblem. Gav fumbled with the restraints at X-ray’s wrists. He couldn’t get them loose. His fingers were too clumsy inside his gloves. He cursed and stripped them off. He went for the restraints again and yelped in surprise. As soon as he touched them, the metal bindings released and snapped around in reverse, ensnaring Gavin’s wrists instead.

“Ah! No! Bloody - fecal matter -” he broke off and looked down. X-ray had disappeared. There was a low, smooth chuckle behind Vav. He turned, wrenching his wrists in the restraints.

“I knew you were here you bastard! Where did Ray go?”

The Mad King stepped out of the shadows. The grin that came over his face was dazzling. It reached eyes that glittered in the harsh light, crinkling them at the corners. There had never been something right about the Mad King’s eyes. As clear and as blue as they were, they always felt as if one were looking into a vast, inescapable hole. Vav felt a huge block of ice slip into stomach at the sight.

“My dear, simple Vav. He was never here of course,” said the Mad King. He raised a hand and revealed a small white remote. A click and suddenly X-ray was there again. Vav squinted around, realising with dread where the projection was coming from now. The spotlights around him weren’t just that.

“Of course I needed some redundant projectors for when you approached and blocked some,” the Mad King said. The superhero avoided the instinct to shrink backwards as the madman stalked towards him.

“And of course it vexed me, wondering whether or not you would notice the fact that my lure had no shadow, but it seems not to have mattered,” he said, coming face to face with Vav. Cold dread swept over Gavin. He’d come alone. The guys were several hours behind him at the least.

The Mad King’s grin widened somehow and he tilted his head slightly. Vav knew he was thinking along the very same lines. The blue eyes travelled down Vav to the floor. The Mad King laughed and scooped up the gloves from where Vav had dropped them.

“Give those back, you prick!” Vav yelled. His voice echoed horribly in the small chamber.

“Oh Vav, such a thoughtful gift. You really shouldn’t have,” said the kilted man.

“Don’t touch them,” Vav growled through gritted teeth.

“This is much too generous. I shall have to think of something equal to gift you in reciprocation,” the Mad King said, considering him again and tapping the gloves on one hand.

Gavin yelled and yanked again on the restraints.

“Let me go you bastard! Mogar and Jackhammer and the Brewer will be here any second. They will push your shit in if you don’t let me go right now!”

The Mad King put his hand on his chest in mock affront.

“Such untruths! You and I both know perfectly well that your rag-tag hero friends have no idea where you are _Gavin_.”

Vav froze. The Mad King chuckled.

“Yes I know, Gavin.”

“How?” spat Vav.

“Oh, I know everything, my little cerulean friend,” the Mad King said, turning and striding over to a desk that Vav had not noticed before. He laughed again.

“Actually, I tell a lie. I don’t know everything. For instance, I know not what this button does,” he said, his hand hovering over a keypad on the table. “It’s been a long time since I set this all up. So I guess we’ll discover it anew together?”

Vav fixed him with a stare.

“You are the biggest prick to ever prick,” he hissed.

The Mad King laughed and pressed the button and Vav screamed.


	2. The Hunters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slow build OT6 with the Achievement Hunters in a post-Season 2 of X-Ray & Vav (some non-canon stuff though)
> 
> The Jackhammer and The Brewer teamed up recently with plucky superhero Vav and the mighty Mogar. They recruit young Rimmy-Tim as well, in order to take on the ever growing threat that is The Mad King...  
> -  
> Jeremy is thrown in the deep end and meets an unusual parental figure.

[(Tumblr Link)](http://theorangewritingranger.tumblr.com/post/152893817537/great-irresponsibility-chapter-two-the-hunters)

 

Gavin found himself curled in a ball under his bedclothes, shaking uncontrollably. His arms were wrapped tight around his legs in an effort to stop the tremors. He gritted his teeth, feeling sick to his stomach. His mind was jittering through the memories of the cold stone room in the sewers. His wrists rubbed raw from the shackles. The Mad King’s chuckle echoed in his ears, over and over, layering like like a bad sitcom’s laugh track. His guts clenched as a phantom jolt of electricity seemed to shoot through him. His muscles screamed at the memory. He threw back the bed covers and leapt to his feet. His arms still wrapped around him he hurried to the door and down into the kitchen. He needed something - anything - to try to sooth his nerves. His eyes fell upon a bottle of whiskey. His hands were shaking almost too much to unscrew the cap but he eventually managed it. He took a huge swig, choking a little as the whiskey burned his throat. After a few seconds he took another. He went to sit on the living room couch and curled himself in around the bottle. He flicked on the television, needing something to drown out the memories.

This was how Jack found him in the morning. He was sitting, still curled in a tight ball, glassy eyes open and staring at the screen. He jumped as Jack walked past into the kitchen. He immediately shoved the now mostly-empty bottle behind a cushion. Jack took a double take at the motion.

“Vav? You’re up early,” he said. Then he frowned. “Are you - did you sleep okay?”

Vav sighed and rubbed his face. “Does it look like it?” he snapped.

Jack looked upset. Vav winced when he saw.

“Sorry,” he said. Jack came over and sat on the couch next to Gavin. He looked confused for a second, reached into the couch cushions and pulled out the bottle. He raised an eyebrow but put it on the coffee table.

“It’s okay Vav. You don’t have to apologise for that. It’s totally understandable considering what you went through.” He tapped the top of the bottle.

“I know that this may seem like it’ll help, and even though it’ll lessen the memories for a while, the hangover is never worth it.”

Vav sighed and squinted at Jack. “I have not had a hangover without going to sleep before.”

Jack chuckled.

“You’ll get through this. I know you’ve been through worse,” Jack said.

Gav nodded.

“Also, if you ever need anything - someone to talk to, someone to ask for help - we’re always here for you. That’s what the team is for. We back each other up, on the battlefield and off.”

Vav rolled his eyes and shoved the older man’s shoulder.

“You’re getting sappy all over the couch. You’ll make it soggy,” he said. He paused to gag. “Ugh. I just though of a sopping wet couch - oh _ugh_.” He continued to make retching noises. Jack laughed again.

“But seriously Gavin, we were so fucking worried about you man. You were lucky we even found you,” Jack said, his voice more serious. Gavin fidgeted.

“I - I know. It was stupid going in alone. It’s just that you guys never believed me! You didn’t think it was the Mad King behind these robberies. That’s the one good thing we got out of it I guess,” he said.

“I’m sorry we didn’t believe you Vav. But even you have to admit there was no solid proof up until that point,” Jack said calmly.

“Yeah, I know,” said Vav.

“But yes, now we know that this is really him, we can use it to our advantage.”

Gavin perked up. “Really? How?”

“He set up a trap for you. I’m sure we can wrangle one of our own.”

Mogar passed by the room. He saw Vav, pulled a face and stormed away. Jack looked between the two and rolled his eyes.

“He’s just pissed that you didn't bring him along. You know how much he wants to have a go at the Mad King,” he said. “If you don’t mind, you should apologise to him before we go out on mission today. You know what it's like working with him when he’s in a mood.”

“Ugh. True,” said Gavin. He got up, wincing.

“If you’re lucky when you apologize, he might let you clear that hangover right up,” Jack said.

 

Gav headed towards the backyard. It was the most likely place he’d find the barbarian. Sure enough, Mogar was in the barn. Edgar was nuzzling his face as he scratched her under her chin, murmuring softly.

“I’m sorry,” Gavin said. He knew that Mogar had heard him, but the barbarian kept his back resolutely to Vav. Gavin continued.

“I had to investigate - I had to know whether it was him. I didn’t know he would still be there. I just needed to find something to prove to Jack and Geoff that it _was_ him.”

Mogar continued to ignore him. Edgar however seemed to be tired of neck scratches and moseyed over to Vav. She snuffled at Vav’s chest. Mogar finally turned around to stare at Vav.

“Can I…?” Gavin asked tentatively, raising a hand to pet Edgar’s head.

Mogar rolled his eyes. “Mogar is not her mother. She is Mogar’s.”

Vav smiled and petted the cow, scratching the area around her horns. If a cow could pur…

Mogar came over too and continued to stroke the cow.

“Mogar wants to kill Mad King,” he said.

“I know buddy. And I’m sorry. I know you want to get him as badly as I do. I just… I didn’t think before I went running off.”

Mogar quirked an eyebrow at him. “You do not think a lot.”

Gavin laughed. “I ‘spose you’re right. But I promise, next time I’ll drag you along.”

Mogar smiled. “Good.”

Vav had forgotten to keep scratching Edgar’s head. She nudged his hand. He resumed.

“So we’re cool then?” he said.

Mogar tilted his head. “Cool? You are cold? Mogar is not cold.”

Gavin laughed. “It’s another one of those phrases I keep telling you about. Cool can also mean good, or alright. Like, a good plan can also be a cool plan.”

Mogar considered this for a moment.

“We are cool,” he said with a grin.

“Who are you two calling now?” asked a voice from behind them.

Vav huffed and turned to see Jack standing in the doorway.

“You know I talk different Jack! You know what I mean when I say cool and call,” Gavin said.

“You're just saying the same word twice,” said Jack, shaking his head.

“But you know it’s not!” whined Gavin.

Jack put his hands up and pitched his voice higher in a mocking imitation of Gavin’s.

“Aw, look at me! My name’s Gav and I’ve a call plan! Ooh! Ooh!”

“Shut the fuck up Jack.”

Mogar burst into laughter. Jack dropped the act.

“Anyway, I came out here to tell you guys that we got a job. C’mon,” he said.

The two younger superheroes gave the cow one last pat and followed Jack back inside.

 

As they headed downstairs, Mogar tapped Vav on the shoulder. When he turned, the barbarian passed him a tiny white bottle. Vav grinned up at his friend.

“Thanks buddy,” he said. The bottle was warm, but the healing properties always seemed to work better when it was fresh.

“Mogar needs you fighting well,” he said.

Vav opened the bottle and downed it. He wrinkled his nose at the warm milk, but then immediately sighed in relief. The liquid worked immediate wonders on the ache gnawing at his head.

“Alright, alright, gather round idiots,” said Geoff.

He was seated at the surveillance system. Jeremy was already there, leaning against the desk. He waved when he saw Vav.

“Hi!”

“Hey. You’re the new guy? You helped out yesterday. You’re Rimmy Tim, right?” said Vav.

The purple and orange suited man stuck out his hand as they got closer.

“You can call me Jeremy if you want,” he said, turning a little bit red.

Vav grinned and shook his hand.

“Oh? Revealing our secret identities already? You should have bought me dinner first,” he said. Jeremy looked startled.

“What? Oh - sorry if that was too forward - I didn’t-”

Gavin laughed. “It’s okay man.”

Jeremy looked relieved.

“Hey, lovebirds, break it up. Important mission stuff time,” said Geoff, jerking his thumb at the screens. Jeremy went even redder and let go of Gavin’s hand. Everyone turned their attention to Geoff.

“Okay. We’ve just heard on the air that there’s been an armed robbery uptown,” he said. “It was a jewellery store. Someone pulled a silent alarm, because the cops turned out before the burglars could get away properly. There was a shootout. Two bystanders have been injured and one is dead. The crooks managed to get to a car and the cops are chasing them down right now. We need to act quick - they’re pretty sure one of the assailants was a super. They’re unsure as to just what they can do, but we need to be on the scene to help out if it all goes tits up,” he said.

“Roger,” said Jack.

“On it,” said Vav.

Mogar growled in affirmation and turned and stalked over to grab his sword. Vav scurried over to the walk in closet that Jack had added after he’d gotten annoyed at everyone just chucking their costumes on the floor. Jeremy followed Geoff as he headed over to a door beneath the stairs. He was already dressed - a rumpled suit was an odd costume for a superhero, but Geoff liked it. Besides, it went with the car. Through the door sat a gleaming black vehicle that looked like it had been pulled straight out of the twenties. Jeremy grinned at the sight of it.

“The Hunter-Mobile!” he crowed and ran forwards.

“Hey, watch you don’t scratch the paintwork!”

Jeremy skidded to a halt, pinwheeling his arms in an effort not to fall forwards against the car. Geoff laughed.

“I’m pulling your leg kid. Don’t worry. This thing has seen more destructions and rebuilds than you’ve jerked off,” he said and got into the driver's side. Jack barreled through the door and climbed in the passenger seat. His outfit looked almost like normal clothes, though he now carried a helmet in one hand and wore an old, well-used toolbelt that seemed to be mainly medical supplies. Vav and Mogar were hot on his heels.

“Quick! Get in!” said Jack. Jeremy opened the back door and slid onto the soft leather seat. Mogar slammed it behind him and jumped up onto the foot rail. Vav did the same on the other side of the car. Jack hit a button on the dash, which definitely did not look like it had originally been included in the car, and they began to move upwards. Jeremy saw an empty platform move down on their right as they rose. The platform above them slid across to make room as the H-mobile reached ground level. The rotational system allowed them to store a lot more cars than a suburban home should be allowed. Jeremy was lost in the marvel of it all. He looked down as Geoff prepared to put the car in gear.

“I - uh, where’s the seatbelts?” he asked.

Geoff grinned wickedly at him in the mirror.

“This is one of the first cars ever made. Seatbelts weren’t even _invented_ then,” he said.

Jeremy gulped and grabbed for the edges of the seat.

 

“I don’t know why you insist on driving all the time!” Jack moaned. He had a tablet in his hand and was poking at it with a scrunched up face.

“It is _my_ car,” said Geoff. He wrenched the steering wheel to the left and they veered narrowly around a minivan. Mogar whooped and hollered from where he clung onto the side of the vehicle.

“I’m the one who has to fix it when you inevitably crash it into something,” Jack muttered. “And besides, you know I’m no good with technology. I’m a terrible navigator. Here, Jeremy, you wanna point us in the right direction?” he said, handing the tablet back to Jeremy. The young superhero stared at it. His face was rather white, as were his knuckles.

“Sure!” he said, his voice an octave or so higher than it usually was. He peeled his hands from their death grip on the seat and took the device. He immediately shrieked as Geoff jerked the wheel again, nearly colliding with the back of a pickup truck. A tousled brown head with sunglasses appeared in the window.

“What’s all the racket about?” asked Vav.

“Eh, Jeremy’s not used to Geoff’s driving yet,” said Jack. Gavin laughed. His cape was streaming out behind him like a banner.

“Don’t worry Jeremy, you’ll get used to it in time. And besides, if we _do_ crash, I’ll protect you. I’ve done it a dozen or so times,” he said.

Jeremy somehow went paler. “That does not make me feel any better! If anything, all you’ve told me is that this car has already crashed more than twelve times!”

Gavin laughed and removed his head from the window.

“J! Where’s my navigations!”

“I uh - one second -” Jeremy looked at the tablet, trying to cross reference the continued live reports of the car chase scrolling by on the left of the screen with the map on the right and then compared that with their current location.

“Where we going?” yelled Geoff.

“Uh! Left! You need to take a left up here!” stammered Jeremy.

Geoff heaved a great fake sigh.

“Gosh. Sound less like a GPS,” he said.

“Oh I’m sorry!” Jeremy snapped, sounding a little hysterical. “You’re driving like you’re in a bumper car and you want me to sound like Siri, yeah, sure, one second-” Jeremy cleared his throat and put on a pleasant demeanour. “In three hundred metres, take the next left.”

Geoff chuckled. “That’s the spirit kid.” He caught Jeremy’s eye in the mirror. “Also, I should let you know, I drive better when I’ve had a few drinks.”

Jeremy slumped down in his seat. “Oh god, I’m going to die…”

“Hey! You wanted to join the team! Consider this the deep end!” Geoff said with a grin. Jack laughed too.

“Don’t worry about him Jeremy. He’s actually telling the truth you know. Booze-bender - he works better with alcohol in his system. Although he has to keep it in balance - when he’s had too much, he is certainly stronger, but loses a little bit of the accuracy,” Jack said, turning around in his seat. “It’s the double vision…” he added in a conspiratorial whisper, pointing at his own eyes.

They could hear the sirens now. Geoff shifted gears as they darted around a semi-trailer and they took a right, tires squealing on the slippery blacktop - it had been raining that morning - and then the chase was in front of them. Several police cruisers were hot on the tail of a large black SUV that was peppered with bullet-holes. The H-Mobile slipped in behind the procession.

“Vav!” Geoff called out the window.

“Got it!” came the reply.

Suddenly the SUV began to slow. Brake lights came on everywhere as the police cars realised what was happening. One was too late though and accidentally rammed into the back of another. The pair spun out. Geoff swerved to avoid them. The SUV slowed and to a halt. The cruisers pulled around it and stopped. The cops leapt out, taking cover behind their cars and demanding that the burglars exit their vehicle. The H-mobile pulled up too. Jeremy let out a pent-up breath as they stopped moving. They all got out. Gavin leapt off the side of the car, his hands raised and pointed still at the SUV. he had slowed the motion of the car so much that had basically come to a complete standstill. Jeremy came up to stand beside Geoff.

“What do we do? When do we go in?”

“We don’t,” said Geoff.

“We wait until it becomes a situation that the police are no longer equipped to handle,” added Jack.

“Really?”

“Yep. If we storm in there, it could escalate things beyond what they need to be. Besides, then we’d be in the way and the cops would have to worry about shooting one of us. Only one of us is bulletproof,” said Jack. Mogar joined them, folding his arms.

“So are the bad guys frozen in there too?” asked Jeremy. Gavin shook his head as he walked closer to the fray. The others followed carefully.

“I can only slow two objects at once, if they’re small. I need both hands if it’s something like a car. I can only affect the car though. The people inside are a different matter,” he said.

“I hope you remembered to only affect the wheels this time. They won’t be able to get out if you’re slowing the whole car,” said Geoff.

“Of course I did Geoffery!” Gavin said, but then pursed his lips. Suddenly the doors of the SUV sprang open. Mogar clapped Vav gently on the back of the head.

“Oi! That hurt, you supernaturally-strong twat!”

Several men in black balaclavas tumbled out. Guns clattered to the ground and they raised their hands. Geoff huffed.

“Wow. That was easy,” he said.

Mogar’s frown deepened and he fingered the pommel of his sword.

“Cheer up buddy. I’m sure you’ll get to use it next time. The next lot of criminals might be less inclined to come as peacefully as these folks,” Jack said, clapping him on his shoulder.

Mogar grumbled something under his breath that sounded a lot like “Wanna maul…”

The burglars had lined up now, getting on their knees and putting their hands behind their heads. Geoff sighed and turned back to get in the car. Vav had lowered his hands now, the car’s momentum having run out while under the influence of the slow-motion.

“Welp! Job well done guys,” said Gav, pushing his shades back up his considerable nose and following Geoff. Mogar trailed after them.

“Come on Jeremy. Show’s basically over at this point,” Jack said.

A strange look passed over Jeremy’s face. “I - I don’t think so. I can feel… Didn’t you guys say that there was a power involved in this? Where are they?”

Jack looked back at the group of hooded men as the officers slowly approached them, handcuffs at the ready.

“There! That woman on the end - what is she doing with her hand?” Jeremy said. He pointed to a slighter figure, dressed in black like the others, but with long, too-pale hair escaping her balaclava. She was reaching slowly down at her side, fingers splayed. She lunged, reaching out for a nearby puddle left over from the morning’s rain. There was a crack and a sizzle and the sudden tang of ozone in the air and the whole line of advancing police officers screamed and convulsed.

“She’s a power!” Jack yelled to the others and dashed forwards. There was muffled shouting and thumps as the three already in the car hastily tried to exit it again. Jeremy darted after Jack, weaving in and out of the barricade of cop cars. The woman had stood up and the sharp smell in the air increased dramatically. White lightning arced between her fingers and errant sparks ran up and down her arms. Her companions scrambled for their guns. The remaining cops still had their weapons pointed at their targets and were shouting orders, but now with the backup of their powered comrade, they were being ignored. Jack crouched down and placed his hand on the road. Jeremy felt a shudder run through the bitumen.

“Damnit. This is a new stretch of highway. I can barely feel anything,” he muttered. His brows drew closer together and his fingers seemed to tighten around something that Jeremy couldn’t see. Confused shouting began over near the black SUV. Jeremy turned to see two of the of the burglars struggling to move. Their feet had been pinned by what looked like the metal mesh used in the construction of the road. It had curled up, ripping open the surface of the street and clamping around their boots.

“Get off the ground!” shouted the woman, her head whipping back and forth. She scrambled up onto the roof of the SUV while three others sought refuge on top of police cars. Finally, the woman spotted Jack who was still kneeling with his palm to the ground. She grinned, electricing leaping across her lips.

“Jack! Look out!” Geoff came barreling into the big man knocking them to the side as a bolt of white streaked towards them. The lightning split the air with a terrible crack, the sonic pressure causing many an ear to pop and leaving a smoking crater where Jack had been. There was a blaze of brown as Mogar charged past Jeremy. His grin was fierce and gleamed like his sword. He roared as he leapt, bringing the huge weapon up in a two handed grip. The lightning-thrower screamed and fell backwards off the car. The gleaming blue blade came down, cutting clean through the hood of the car. Mogar pulled the sword out and glanced around for his prey. The woman had scrabbled to her feet and managed to press her hands to the car. Her electricity coursed through the metal of the car, insulated by the tyres and went the only way it could - into Mogar. He bellowed and spasmed. A flash of blue and suddenly Vav was in the fray. He glared at the woman.

“Oi!” he yelled. The woman got to her feet, white sparks coursing over her arms and torso. She looked pale, but she smiled at Vav.

“You want some of this?” she called.

“Come at me bitch,” Vav said, strengthening his stance and raising his hands.

There was another deafening crack, but then time slowed. Jeremy could only stare in awe as the white-hot bolt of electricity seemed to swim slowly through the air, twisting and turning like an eel.

“Oh, no. Oh balls. Oh bollocking hell! It’s too fast! Too fast!” Vav squawked and dove to the side. Time resumed as normal and the lighting bolt blasted another hole in the tarmac. Almost all of the cops had taken shelter at this point. The other burglars were trying to free their buddies from the road mesh. One had hopped back into the SUV and was attempting to start it.

Geoff stepped up. A thin stream of liquid trailed after him. It was coming from a tank on the side of the H-mobile that Jeremy had not noticed before. The liquid was amber coloured and as Geoff passed by Jeremy, the younger man swore that he was immediately tipsy from just the fumes.

“You’re turn huh, old man?” The woman threw her head back and laughed.

“Geoff - no don’t!” shouted Jack.

“Don’t you dare! I’m not that old!” Geoff shouted, his voice cracking. He lifted his arms and swept them to the side. The stream around him thickened and formed a ring that began rotating. Faster and faster it spun and then with a sharp motion, a cord struck out, whipping towards the powered woman.

“Geoff, no!” shouted Jack.

The woman danced backwards, narrowly avoiding the slashing liquid, and then dashed to the side as another whistled towards her. She was panting and her hands were trembling. Geoff laughed as he sent several more tendrils after her, slashing across her skin. She screamed as she was knocked to the ground. Geoff strode forwards, hands shaping the liquid in the air, causing ropes of it to twist around the woman’s body. She whimpered and moaned.

“Geoff!”

The woman looked up, suddenly grinning. Her body crackled with electricity. The white lightning surged through the liquid, conducted along the streams and surged into Geoff’s hands. The suited man screamed and dropped, the spirits dropping formless to splash on the ground.

“Geoff, no!” Jack roared, dashing forwards.

There was another roar too as Mogar leapt into the fight again. He tackled the woman. The pair tumbled to the ground. He got in a single punch before she latched onto him. Mogar screwed up his eyes, trembling as the electricity coursed through him. A strangled growl escaped his bared teeth, but he did not let go of the energy-thrower.

“Fuck! Fucking let go of me!” yelled the woman. She dug her fingers into Mogar’s arm, driving the electricity into him. Mogar screamed. Jack was bent over Geoff who was lying motionless on the ground. Vav appeared behind Jeremy.

“Jermey! We have to do something! We have to help Mogar! He’s strong, but no one can withstand that for long!”

“What do we do?”

“I don’t know!” cried Vav. “I’m useless here! Electricity travels too fast for me to be of any help! You’ve got to do something!”

Jeremy straightened.

“I have an idea,” he said. He strode over to the nearest cop car and jerked the door open. He grabbed the microphone for the loudspeaker and began fiddling with the car’s stereo. He held the mic up to the speakers and everyone winced at the whine of feedback.

“Stuff your fingers in your ears!” Jeremy yelled at Vav, who promptly did so.

A low hum started up. The radio began producing music under Jeremy’s hand. It was light and soft at first, but grew stronger over the loudspeaker. Jeremy frowned in concentration, coaxing the music to do what he needed. The pair struggling on the ground seemed to slow. Both Mogar’s and the powered woman’s movements grew more sluggish. Jack seemed to slump where he knelt over Geoff. There were the soft sounds of thuds as the cops around them sank slowly to the ground. The burglars too seemed to slow in their steps, becoming more clumsy and listless.

“What are you doing?” Vav shouted.

“My powers - they let me influence people’s moods with music. I’m calming them,” Jeremy said.

Both Mogar and the woman had almost stopped moving entirely. Mogar let his head drop to her shoulder. Jeremy could see the tension go out of his muscles.

“What?” Vav yelled. Jeremy rolled his eyes.

“Vav! I have to keep my hands on the stereo for this to keep working. You have to figure out a way to restrain the woman!”

Vav turned to him, fingers still in ears.

“What?” he yelled again.

“Get her!” Jeremy shouted, jabbing a finger at the woman. “But don’t take those out!” he said, pointing at Vav’s hands and then doing a throat-cutting motion. Vav nodded.

“Got it!”

He made an awkward sight running over to the pair, elbows out and fingers in ears. Jeremy glanced over at Geoff and Jack. The bigger ginger man looked almost as lifeless as Geoff. Cold dread seeped into him. He needed to let up on this and soon. They needed to help Geoff. God knows what the shock had done to that alcohol-sodden body.

“I don’t have anything to tie her down with!” Vav yelled.

“Then find something!” Jeremy bellowed. His head had begun to ache. He was more used to doing subtle mood nudges. He could send a spike of excitement or adrenaline through a crowd to get them livened up, or soothe the rattled nerves of someone close to him. He’d never had to do such an intense blanketing calm on so many people.

Vav ran over to the nearest police car. He managed to get the trunk open with the toe of his boot and scanned the contents.

“Aha! I found some rope!” Gav paused and frowned. He turned back to Jeremy. “How am I supposed to tie her up? As soon as I take my fingers out of my ears I’m gonna fall asleep just like the others!”

Jeremy’s head drooped forwards onto the steering wheel of the cruiser. The strength was slowly seeping from his limbs. Even breathing was getting hard.

“I don’t fucking know! Just do it!” Jeremy yelled. Vav looked back at the rope, bent forwards and picked it up with his elbows. Jeremy had thought the fingers in ears look was stupid, but Vav had pushed the envelope with this. The Brit carried the rope carefully over to the motionless Mogar and burglar.

“Now if you could tie yourself up, it’d be bloody useful,” he muttered.

Jeremy closed his eyes. The leaden feeling was heavy on his bones. He just wanted to let go. He just wanted to curl up right there on the cruiser’s seat and pass out. He forced himself to keep his hand on the stereo.

“Jeremy? Jeremy buddy! What do I do?”  Vav called. Jeremy was beyond answering though.  Vav stared around wildly. He had to free his hands up somehow. He gasped. _Maybe that would work…_ He steeled himself, then removed his left hand from his ear. He immediately dropped the ear to his shoulder, muffling the music that he could suddenly hear. He reached into his utility pants - Hilda was to blame for that atrocious name  - and grabbed his phone. He fished around for a moment and found his earbuds. He felt a sudden, intense wave of peacefulness steal over him. He felt all of his limbs seem to sag. He moved quickly, stuffing the earbuds into his ears and plugged the end of the cord into his phone. He navigated quickly for a song and then turned the volume up full. He waited for a moment, slowly swaying on the spot. The music did the trick. The calming pressure on his mind lifted. He shook his head.

“God. That was close,” he said. He shoved the phone into his waistband and went to town with the rope. The woman blinked sluggishly at him as he worked. He made sure that the woman's hands were secured firmly in front of her, palms facing towards her chest. She’d have a harder time firing lightning bolts at them now. When he was done, her hurried over to Jeremy. Vav’s eyes widened at the sight of the shorter man. He’d gone bone white. He was trembling, one hand still clutched around the stereo.

“Jeremy! That’s enough! We’ve got her!” he yelled over the loud music still playing through his earphones. Jeremy didn’t move, or more accurately, couldn’t. Gavin had to pry his hand off the speaker himself. He dragged the young man out of the car and laid him gently on the grassy verge. Vav chanced removing an earbud and was relieved to find that the remnants of Jeremy’s music had faded away. He shoved his phone back in his pants and knelt next to Jeremy. His breathing was weak, but still there.

“Hey buddy. Hey Jeremy, wake up man,” he said softly, patting the superhero’s face. Jeremy’s skin was cold through the thin material of Vav’s gloves.

“Lil J, wake up dude!” Gavin yelled. Jeremy gasped and opened his eyes. He looked around in panic.

“Yay!” Gavin said, slapping him on the chest. Jeremy flinched and rubbed his face.

“What happened?” he asked.

“You overdid it man. I’m pretty sure you fainted,” Vav said with a smug grin.

“I did not pass out!” Jeremy said and sat up. His face was still pale and he wobbled precariously. “Woah. I feel lightheaded.”

“Yeah, ‘cause you passed out. Like a pussy,” Vav teased.

Jeremy tried to stand up but his knees buckled underneath him. He collapsed again, landing on his rump, looking rather like a stocky newborn colt trying and failing miserably to get up for the first time.

“You know what. I’m a pussy and proud. I think I will just continue to sit here like said pussy, until my head stops spinning,” he said. Vav was bent almost double with laughter.

There was a growl and a scuffling noise. Mogar and the woman seemed to have come to their senses too. The energy-thrower seethed and wriggled, straining against the ropes. Flickers of static roiled up and down her body, but it seemed that she was disabled for now. Vav pulled Jeremy to his shaky feet and they stumbled over. Mogar hissed and leapt backwards from the woman again. She couldn’t throw any more lightning, but she was still managing to electrocute the ground around her.

“Little fucker doesn’t know when to quit, does she?” said Jeremy. Mogar nodded, balling up a fist. He strode towards the woman and with a thud of knuckles on bone, she was out like a light. The white sparks squirreled away.

“Nice, boi,” said Vav. Mogar looked around.

“Jack? Geoff?”

“Oh, shit!” yelled Jeremy. He turned and hurried to where he’d last seen the pair.

 

Jack felt the weight lift from his shoulders. It felt bizarre, like someone had cut his tie to the earth. The soothing, stifling hum of calm had vanished. Sound and sight prickled at his consciousness. There was something warm and heavy in his arms. He looked down, taking in the sight of the charred streaks on a white collared shirt. Memories of Geoff screaming and falling speared through Jack’s brain, forcing it back online. He jumped and grabbed at Geoff’s shoulders.

“Geoffery! Are you okay? Oh, please speak to me… Geoff, please wake up…” Jack’s voice was shaky. His large, calloused hands fluttered over Geoff’s chest.

“Geoff, wake up - don’t do this to me man - wake up you stupid fuck…” Jack bent toward Geoff, touching their foreheads together.

“Wake up… please…”

Jack’s lips brushed Geoff’s gently.

“Way to take advantage of a dude,” Geoff mumbled.

Jack jumped back and gave a shout of laughter. He gathered Geoff in his arms and hugged him to his chest. Geoff’s arms circled Jack and he patted his back awkwardly.

“Goddamn. Don’t you fucking do that ever again,” said Jack.

Geoff laughed softly.

“It’ll take a lot more than a little static shock like that to kill me,” he said.

Laughter hitched in Jack’s chest. He pulled away and looked into Geoff’s eyes. He curled a hand around Geoff’s tattooed neck and drew him in for another kiss. Geoff smiled against his lips.

“How is this funny?” Jack asked drawing away. “Am I not allowed to kiss my boyfriend after he nearly dies?”

“Of course you are. It’s just that we seem to have an audience,” he said, nodding over Jack’s shoulder.

Mogar was still eyeing the now unconscious woman. Vav was smothering giggles as he watched Jeremy. Jeremy was staring open mouthed at Jack and Geoff.

“I - what - I don’t -” he spluttered. Vav doubled over again, now just emitting squeaking noises.

“I guess I forgot to mention that in the Hunter introductory pamphlet,” Jack said, getting to his feet. Geoff too the hand that he offered and Jack pulled him up too. All around them, police were recovering too. They hurried forwards before the men in balaclavas could reorientate themselves and began arresting them. Others tended to their wounded who’d fallen in the first wave of electrocutions. More sirens could be heard approaching in the distance. Several cops approached the trussed woman cautiously.

“She should be okay now,” said Jack waving at them. “Just get her to an insulated cell before she wakes up.”

Expressions of relief flooded their faces.

“Thanks, Jackhammer!” one called.

“Thanks for stepping in when you did!”

“Happy to help,” called Geoff, his voice cracking as it was still a little weak. He sighed and slumped against Jack.

“Easy, buddy,” said Jack, holding him carefully. Geoff harrumphed.

“Carry me to the car,” he moaned.

“Absolutely not,” Jack said, chuckling.

“What’s the point of having a near-death experience if you can’t get your boyfriend to carry you?" Geoff grumbled. Jack hooked his arm under Geoff’s shoulders. The tattooed man grinned tiredly.

“Thanks, sweetie,” he said, sarcasm tinting his words. Jack reached over and shut Jeremy’s mouth for him as he led Geoff to the car. The younger man shook himself and turned bright red.

“Uh, sorry… I just - I’ve never heard of two superheroes getting together is all,” he said, trailing after them. Jack smiled.

“It’s not as unlikely as you’d think,” he said. “I actually know quite a few powered couples. Good friends of ours, Burns and Jinx worked together for a while. They’re actually engaged now,”

“Don’t forget Kdin and Cinneminni. Powers run in a lot of the same circles,” added Geoff. He groaned as Jack opened the passenger door and heaved him into it.

“Huh. When I heard you guys had teamed up, I didn’t realise…”

Jack laughed again. “We only actually started working together after that.”

“Oh. Cool,” said Jeremy and he slid onto the back seat. Mogar shut the door behind him and took his place again on the outside of the vehicle. Vav opened the other door and climbed in beside Jeremy. He laughed again at the befuddled look still on the other man’s face.

“Don’t worry Lil’ J. You’ll get used to it in no time. Then, like the rest of us, you’ll just be sickened at how disgustingly lovey-dovey they are,” he said.

“Lovey-dovey, my ass! I am a manly man!” Geoff shouted, his words betraying him as his voice cracked again. He slumped in his seat. “God, I need a drink,” he said.

“When do you not?” Jack asked, getting into the driver’s seat.

 

As soon as they were back at the house, Jack immediately dragged Geoff over to the examination table. He gingerly cut away the fabric of the now ruined coat and shirt. Geoff hissed in pain as Jack peeled the fabric away. Angry red weals revealed themselves. They traced up Geoff’s heavily inked arms and latticed over his chest.

“Mogar?” Jack said softly. The bear-like man nodded and headed for the stairs. Vav and Jeremy approached the medical bay. Jeremy looked worried, while Vav seemed to be having trouble not gagging. Jack grabbed a cloth and ran it under the nearby skin. He went to pat Geoff’s broken skin with the damp fabric, but thought better of it, instead just squeezing the cool water out over the red patches. Geoff moaned through gritted teeth. Vav ran over to the bar and snagged a bottle at random.

“Thanks buddy,” said Geoff, his eyes still scrunched up in pain as he took the drink. Mogar returned a few minutes later with a large glass bottle of frothy milk. Geoff took that too, alternating between swigs of milk and Jack Daniels. Geoff was soon looking a lot better. He’d stopped trembling.

“What is that?” Jeremy asked, pointing at the milk bottle.

“Gift from Mogar’s mother,” Jack said, wetting the cloth again and dripping more soothing water over Geoff’s chest. The burns were worst there. The electricity seemed to have travelled up his arms and met in the middle of his chest.

“Mogar’s mom? She makes medicine? Or, is that some kind of healing potion?” Jeremy asked.

The others laughed.

“I guess you could say that,” said Vav.

“It has regenerative properties,” said Jack, flicking a finger at the bottle. “We’re lucky that Mogar lets us have some when we’re injured. That’s one of the reasons he’s so strong, you know. He grew up on the stuff. Extended exposure to it has enhanced pretty much his entire body.”

“Mother is cool,” Mogar said, throwing himself down on the couch with a grin.

“I still think we should change her name,” said Vav, draping himself over the back of chair and resting his chin on his hands. “We only started calling her Edgar because of that horrible machine that the Mad King hooked her up to,” he said.

“She is Mother,” Mogar said.

“Yeah, she’s your mother, but we can’t really call her mother. She need a new name… something like… Egg,” Gavin said triumphantly.

“Fuck no,” said Geoff. “You cannot call everything Egg.”

“Aw… why not Geoffrey?”

“Egg is not even a name, you retard!”

“Is too! ‘S a good name!”

Jeremy looked between Mogar and Vav, the confused expression back on his face.

“Doesn’t she already have a name? Most people do,” he said.

Vav sniggered again.

“Silly Jeremy. Edgar is not people,” he said.

“Mother is a cow,” said Mogar offhandedly.

Jeremy stared at him. “Well, that’s just rude. You call her names after she’s just gone and helped Geoff?”

Everyone else burst out laughing. Jeremy looked around, even more bewildered.

“Dude. You don’t get it. She’s literally a cow,” said Geoff.

Jeremy stared uncomprehendingly. Mogar grinned at Jeremy.

“Come. Mogar will take you to meet her,” he said. He headed to the stairs again, Jeremy trailing after him, a bemused look still on his face.

“What time is it?” muttered Geoff.

“Just gone on about four,” said Jack, glancing at his watch.

“Ugh. I have to go into work soon,” Geoff said. He moved to get up. Jack put a hand on his shoulder, holding him back in on the examination table.

“You are most certainly not going into work tonight. The bar can run itself without you, you know. Matt, Lindsay and Mica have that stuff on lock. They can deal without their fearless leader for one night,” he said.

“But - but the customers! What if they get rowdy? None of the other staff are powers,” Geoff said. Quit a few of the regular crowd in the little laneway pub Geoff had called home for many years were powers too.

“I’ll send Jeremy over,” Jack said. “He can calm anyone down if they get out of hand.”

“How did you guys meet him anyway?” asked Gavin who was now spinning around in the chair, his long cape swishing satisfyingly with the motion.

“It was actually at the bar,” Jack said with a chuckle.

“Had no idea the little sod was a power at first. I was advertising for musicians for live gigs. Jeremy turned up one day for an audition. He looked really young, but I gave him a go and lo and behold he was pretty good. Excellent DJ. Like really fucking good.”

“One night a couple of patrons got real fighty - bottles were smashed - they broke a table -”

“I’m telling the story!” whined Geoff. Jack smiled and conceded, going to rinse out his rag. Geoff cleared his throat.

“So yeah. Couple of morons smashing up my bar. I was out the back getting in a delivery. I had no idea what was going on. Linds and the others were running around trying to find me. They told me later that everyone just stopped. They all just stopped being angry. They put down their weapons and just chilled the fuck out. They said it was weird - that it was the music that just made everyone feel all peaceful. I confronted him about it after last call when he was packing all his shit up,” Geoff said. He took a swig of whiskey.

“You confronted him? You attacked him?”

“Hell no dude! I just asked him why a talented little shit like him was still doing cheap-ass gigs in a downtown pub. He totally admitted that he was a power too and that he knew who I was and that he’s like a huge fucking fan-boy too,” Geoff said, chuckling. Vav laughed.

“Oh, I am totally going to give him hell for that,” he said.

“So, I kept him on,” Geoff said. He leant forward, cupping a hand to his mouth. “Also, don’t tell him this, but that little dude rolls fucking _bank_ , man. He totally makes them dance a ton more than what people used to do in the bar. More dancing means more thirsty people - cha-ching.”

Gavin grinned.

Jack came back over, cloth in hand.

“How does it feel now?” he asked Geoff. The dark-haired man shrugged, then winced.

“Still hurts like a bitch, but not so bad,” he said. He traced a finger up one of the burns. “These better not have fucked up any of my tattoos. I will be so fucking mad if that bitch ruined years of pain and suffering - and fucking money! You know how expensive these all were?”

Jack rummaged in one of the nearby drawers looking for painkillers. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Vav. The young man was generally pinging off the walls after a successful mission. He was curled up in the arm chair, chin resting on the back, looking at Geoff, but he seemed… deflated. His normally bright, green eyes seemed far away.

“You okay Gav?” Jack asked, cutting Geoff off mid-rant. The young Brit’s eyes flicked up. After a moment, annoyance clouded his face.

“I’m fine,” he said. He got up and headed for the stairs. Jack cursed under his breath.

“Ooh! Are those painkillers! Give!” said Geoff.

 

“I don’t… What? Wh- how?” Jeremy looked even more confused, if anything, as he followed Mogar back inside after meeting Edgar. Mogar shrugged.

“Easy. Mogar’s human mother abandoned Mogar in the woods. Mother found Mogar and fed him. Mogar protected Mother,” he said.

“You protected her?”

“A cow, in the woods - yes Mogar protected her. Many predators would like to eat Mother,” said the bear-like man. He plonked down on the couch in the living room and took off the bearskin he wore.

“This was the first beast that tried to harm mother,” he said. He handed the skin to Jeremy. The other man took it hesitantly. He turned it over in his hands, examining the old, patchy fur and the numerous rips and tears from many years of use. The head part of the skin was huge, as were the paws that Mogar would hang down his front like a scarf.

“This was the first? How old were you then?”

“Mogar does not know. It was before Mogar learned to count,” he said waving a hand. “Mogar remembers that he was no taller than Mother’s nose when we fought the bear,” he said.

Jeremy’s eyes went wide. He held a hand up, estimating how tall that would have been.

“Holy shit dude - you must have been like, barely even a kid!”

Mogar frowned at Jeremy. “A kid? Mogar is not a goat. Mogar is a bear.”

This made Jeremy snort with laughter. He sobered quickly though. “But seriously - you managed to take on, it must have been fully grown, grizzly, all by yourself, as a _child_ ,” he said, handing the barbarian’s pelt back to him.

“Mogar was always strong. Mother made him stronger,” he said, shrugging and throwing the skin over the arm of the couch.

“So, you are actually a power?” Jeremy asked, sitting down next to him.

“Mogar supposes so,” he said, and then as an afterthought- “Humans are much too weak.”

Jeremy put a finger to his chin. “So, you were raised by a cow. But you constantly refer to yourself as a bear. Why is that?”

“Mogar does not remember his mother. He travelled far with Mother though, and came to realise that he was not like her at all. When we met bear, Mogar thought that might be what he was. Bear was more like Mogar than Mother. Bear had same fur,” Mogar pulled the skin closer, showing how the reddish brown-pelt looked very similar to his own shaggy locks. “Bear had sharp teeth. Bear also stood on two legs when he fought. So Mogar knew he was a bear.”

Jeremy blinked. “Makes sense if you’d never seen or really remembered what humans were,” he said, nodding.

“You were a right savage when we first met, hey boi,” Vav appeared behind them, elbows leaning over the back of the couch. Mogar grinned at him, although it looked more menacing with the gleaming canines.

“At least Mogar can speak english better than you, blue-tard,” said the bear. Vav squawked in indignation.

“I’ll have you know I speak the Queen’s english! You colonial smegpots went and messed it all up when you decided to bugger off from the commonwealth,” he said.

“See?” Mogar said, turning to Jeremy.

“And _I_ don’t speak in freaking third person!” shouted Vav.

Mogar sneered and turned away.

“Do you like to fight?” he asked Jeremy.

“Do I what?”

“Fight.” Mogar reached down. Jeremy flinched, but instead of reaching for the huge, sky-blue bladed sword the bearish-man always kept in sight, he picked up an xbox controller.

“Do you like to fight?” he asked again.

Vav stood up and came around to sit on the couch too. Mogar had to shuffle over so he could fit. Jeremy noted nervously as he moved closer, that Mogar seemed unusually warm.

“He means to ask if you like to play games - like xbox games and stuff,” said the slight superhero who also reached for a controller.

“Oh… Yeah, sure. I love xbox,” said Jeremy. He watched in surprise as the primitive-looking man navigated the xbox menu system with ease. He picked out a multiplayer game and began arguing with Vav over who would be which character. Vav grinned at Jeremy.

“Yeah, I know. He might still talk in third-person, but he’s damn good at games. Took to it like a duck to water. Or a bear to… I dunno - what are bears good at?” Vav asked Mogar.

“Eating. Sleeping. Crushin’ stuff,” said Mogar.

“Took to it like a bear takes to smashing things,” said Vav to Jeremy. “You should have seen him when we first showed him a video game. There was like a millisecond of confusion, then he got it.”

“It is just fighting… but different,” said Mogar.

“We started him off with Minecraft. It even has a skin that sorta looks like him! He immediately asked how to make a sword then killed everything in sight.” Gavin chuckled.

“From there, it was Towerfall,” he said, pointing at the game currently on the screen, “and then onto guns - Halo, Call of Duty, Battlefield, etcetera. Eventually we’ll get him out of first-person-shooters though. I really want to get a game of Mario Party going - that oughta be a blast if we invited Hilda, and now we have a fourth! Geoff and Jack won’t play with me. They’re too old and crabby,” Gavin babbled.

Mogar had become focused on the game, his dark eyes narrowed in concentration, the corner of his mouth tweaked up in a grin. Jeremy had not played the game before, but Mogar and Gavin had obviously had a lot of practice at it and were nearly neck and neck. Gavin eked ahead to much growling and dark looks from Mogar.

“Get back here you twit. Mogar will stick you like pig. C’m here!”

Gavin was sniggering up a storm as he grabbed a special power-up - an arrow that shot clusters of thorns.

“Don’t you dare! Don’t you fucking dare! That was mine! Give it back!”

He darted around the map, dodging and even catching all of Mogar’s arrows. With a complete fluke of a shot, he manage to pin the barbarian’s character to a wall with a bundle of brambles.

“There! I gave it back to you!” Gavin crowed.

“You fuck! You little cheater! That was a complete chance shot!” Mogar roared. Jeremy found himself pressed up against the arm of the sofa. Gavin was wheezing with laughter as Mogar continued to yell at him, spittle flying now. Jeremy glanced at the controller in the bear-man’s hands as he waved it around furiously; it appeared to be in danger of breaking in his mighty grip.

“Dude, chill out, you’re scaring Little J,” Gavin said breathlessly, still curled up in mirth on the other end of the couch. Mogar immediately stopped raging. He turned and grinned at Jeremy.

“Oh, am I?” he said.

Jeremy felt the blood run from his face. Mogar snorted.

“Do not worry Jeremy. Mogar will not hurt you. Unless Jeremy would like to actually fight?” Mogar asked hopefully.

“I’m good,” squeaked Jeremy.

Mogar laughed.

“Do not fight him,” Vav said, leaning over the back of the couch and mock whispering behind his hand. “He would mess you up.”

“From the looks of that poor controller, he most certainly would,” said Jeremy. Mogar and Vav both glanced down at it. There was a large crack now in the white casing.

“Aw man! Not another one,” said Vav.

“Oops…” muttered Mogar.

“What do you mean ‘another one’?” asked Jeremy.

Vav leant down and fumbled with something under the couch. He lifted it and passed it to Jeremy. Jeremy accepted the box with a huff of breath - it was heavy. _Mogar’s Kills_ was written on the top in thick black marker. Jeremy opened the box to find it nearly full to the brim with mangled and shattered video game controllers. He laughed in surprise.

“He broke like two a week before he learned to control his temper more,” Vav said. Jeremy shoved the box back under the couch.

“Also, that box doesn’t have the TVs he’s broken throwing things at them…” said Vav. Jeremy gaped at Mogar. The barbarian wrinkled his nose guiltily.

“How many have you broken?” asked Jeremy.

“...only six,” muttered Mogar.

Jeremy couldn’t help but laugh again.

“Only six! What about that computer monitor you shattered with the mouse in my room?” Gavin asked.

“Was not television. Does not count,” Mogar said with a shrug, his guilt instantly melting back into a grin. This set Gavin off on another bout of protesting sqwawks. He slapped ineffectively at Mogar’s arms. The other man grinned and had to simply hold out a hand, his longer reach keeping Vav’s weak attempts at bay.

“This is just pathetic. How did you even become a superhero?” Mogar teased.

“Hard work and perseverance,” Vav grunted, hands flapping near Mogar’s face.

“You pair are the most grown up children I have ever seen,” Jeremy said, taking advantage of his opponent’s distraction to score a few points. “When did you start working together?”

“Only a few months ago,” Vav said. “Oi!” He’d realised that Jeremy now had the lead in the game and dove for his controller.

“Little fucker,” muttered Mogar and grabbed his too.

“Yeah, Jack and Geoff invited me to join. Mogar helped us out a lot and eventually we moved him into the base.”

“Sweet. What was the first mission you guys worked on?” Jeremy asked.

Mogar went stiff. Vav’s hands stilled on the controller and he looked away.

“Oh! Man! I’m sorry - I didn’t mean to pry - I mean, if you don’t want to say…”

Vav bit his lip. Mogar held up a hand.

“It is okay. It is just - awkward to speak about…” Mogar said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“It’s okay boi. We’re all over it now,” Vav said, perking back up with a smile. Jeremy frowned as he looked at Vav. The man was smiling, but he could tell that something about it was forced.

“When Mogar met Vav, Mogar was…” he looked at Vav for help. Gavin pondered for a moment.

“Naive is a good word for it,” he said.

“What does it mean?” asked Mogar.

“It means a bit stupid in the ways of the world. You know a lot about the forest and bears and stuff, but humans and human things and cities, you’ve still got lots to learn.”

Mogar nodded. “Mogar was naive. Mother was missing. Mogar was searching for her. Mogar trusted the wrong man…”

“And that man was the Mad King,” Vav bit, his face hard.

Jeremy’s eyes widened. “Oh… You know, I do remember reading about that in the news headlines,” he said.

Jack appeared at the door to the basement, looking out of breath.

“Get down here you lot. We’ve got something. We think it might be _him_ ,” he said.

“Speak of the devil…” muttered Vav.


End file.
